A POLICE force is to make people who report a mobile phone robbery sign a declaration to say they are telling the truth, it emerged last night.

Thames Valley Police

have introduced the new measures to help reduce the false reporting of mobile phone robberies to support insurance claims.

Under the initiative, officers will ask people to sign a declaration when the robbery is not reported as soon as possible to declare that their report is genuine.

Det Chief Insp Steve Thwaites, who leads Operation Robbery, said, "The majority of mobile phone insurance does not appear to cover the main risk of loss or theft. It only covers robbery.

"Anyone tempted to fake it should understand that they could face charges of wasting police time and attempting to obtain property by deception."

THE M4 is a pipeline into South Wales for Class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine, say senior police officers, and now there are fears that organised gangs like Jamaican Yardies are using the road as a quick entry and exit point to communities in South Wales.

Criminal gangs tend to favour motorways as they believe that escaping from police can be easier and that the traffic can also provide cover in gunfights.

Officers running Operation Tarian, a joint initiative between the Dyfed-Powys, South Wales and Gwent police forces, say there is already evidence that Bristol and Birmingham's drug problems have arrived in Wales.

A spokesman for Operation Tarian said yesterday, "The seizure last week of cocaine and amphetamines worth more than &#xA3;250,000 found in the boot of a car in Bridgend has again demonstrated the M4 is a main supply line for Class A drugs into the region."

Earlier this year the Welsh forces involved in Operation Tarian seized &#xA3;8m worth of cocaine in Newport which was thought to have been imported along the M4.

And this week the Swansea Drugs Project, which is 20 years old this month, revealed that crack cocaine was being seen regularly on the streets of the city.

Wales is only the latest target as gangs look to expand their empires beyond more "traditional" bases in London, Manchester and Liverpool. Yardie suspects have been arrested as far north as Aberdeen.

Crack, which is cocaine heated into "rocks", can disrupt whole communities because heavy users will steal, burgle or mug for more money to buy the drug.

The issue of drugs pouring into South Wales via the M4 was discussed at a meeting of the Tarian steering group at Dyfed-Powys Police HQ in Carmarthen this week.

A series of measures to prevent the continuing motorway supply to complement earlier successes by Tarian officers is being planned.

Last November eight people were jailed for a total of 70 years at Swansea Crown Court after being found guilty of running a multi-million-pound drugs and money-laundering empire.

The gang's leader, West Wales car dealer's son Paul Jeffreys, from Llanelli, who was jailed for 16 years,

would use the M4 to bring millions of pounds worth of drugs shipped to English ports into Wales. After one trip he left &#xA3;250,000 in cash in a car outside his home in Llanelli overnight.

The gang used a bureau de change near Harrod's in London to launder money but staff's suspicions there led to the gang being followed by undercover drugs-squad officers.

Drugs bought from street dealers come from one of four main sources. They are made or grown at home in domestic labs or greenhouses, diverted (stolen or sold on) from legitimate sources such as chemists or imported from producer nations such as Columbia or brought in from transit countries like the Netherlands or Spain.

Most of the drugs coming into Wales have often travelled many miles and through many hands.

A lot of cannabis is grown in and exported from areas like Morocco, Lebanon and Pakistan, but increasing amounts are grown domestically.

Cocaine, which is extracted and refined from the coca plant, is largely exported from South America.

A CRACK addict was jailed yesterday for a "frenzied" attack on his grandmother.

Crazed Christopher Evans, 28, launched the attack on 88-year-old Sarah Evans because he suspected she had hidden his stash of drugs.

He stormed into her home at Pontlottyn and began smashing up her furniture before grabbing her by the hair and throat.

Matthew Roberts, for the prosecution, said, "He bit her fingers in the struggle and split her ear with a punch. She managed to escape and raise the alarm with neighbours.

"Mrs Evans was left bruised and badly traumatised by the incident and spent six weeks in hospital recovering from her injuries."

Evans then attacked Pc David Thomas, biting and punching him.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that earlier on the same day Evans entered another home looking for his drugs, attacked householder Christopher O'Brien and threat- ened to kill his daughter.

Ron Christie, for the defence, said that Evans, of Heol Evan Wynne, Rhymney, had a long history of violence and self-abuse.

"When he was not able to get his drugs he would become violent towards those around him and, sadly, to those closest to him."

Evans admitted assault, possessing drugs and theft, and was jailed for four- and-a-half years.

THE National Criminal Intelligence Service says about 70 tonnes of heroin and cocaine and more than 100 million Ecstasy tablets with an estimated street value of &#xA3;6bn are being brought into the UK every year.

The number of seizures by police and customs officers is thought to represent a fraction of the amounts being brought in.

NCIS has identified between 800 and 900 criminal gangs operating in the UK, with up to 80% being in the underground drugs industry. It believes the gangs are also diversifying into other spheres such as cigarette smuggling and illegal immigration that are less profitable but less risky.

One concern is that Albanian mafias which have swept through some parts of eastern Europe and have a reputation for extreme violence will try to establish themselves here. Within the past few years Albanian criminals have disrupted organised crime in Italy, ousting the traditional mafia from Milan.

Police have already made it clear that Jamaican-based Yardie drugs gangs have been operating in South Wales in places like Newport and Cardiff and there is evidence that they have also targeted Swansea.